Ink, Ink, Ink... Ink? (HP 363 magenta)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	HP 363 magenta
Date:	01/10/08 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Colour

Disadvantages: N/A

I have reviewed three other inks in HP's '363' series already, and this particular write-up deals primarily with the Magenta variety.

Containing 3.5ml of ink (doesn't sound a lot, does it!), this cartridge can be used in the following printers: HP Photosmart 3110, 3210, 3310, 8250, C5175, C6175, C6180, C6270, C6285, C7180, D6160, D7160, D736 and D7460.

In my experience, the Magenta is usually the longest lasting of all the inks in the range, and therefore I don't have to buy this one as frequently as the others.

The colour is very accurate - as are the other '363' colours, and the ink produces clean and lifelike tones in its particular colour range.

As i've mentioned in my other reviews of this series, the ink uses 'viviera' technology. This means that if used in conjunction with HP's 'Premium Plus paper', the resultant prints will have a fade resistance of over 100 years - which is quite an impressive claim.

From Amazon, the 363 magenta costs £6.58. For this price you get what's claimed to be 490 pages worth of ink. If this is true, this represents fairly good value for money, as the cartridges are quite economical and will last a fair amount of time.

If you buy the 363 'Value Pack' which I've also reviewed, you get all the inks in the colour range, and 150 sheets of 10 x 15cm printing paper, for around £31.

The inks are really easy to replace - especially on my printer (the D7160). All you have to do is lift the hinge, push in the cartridge, close the hinge, and you're done. It's a simple and non-messy process.

I would recommend the HP 363 Viviera inks to everyone - especially over the non-hp '3rd party' version. You can guarantee you'll get a realistic colour representation, which, as a graphic designer, is extremely important.

Highly recommend printing ink - give it a go if you've got a compatible printer.

Summary: Trust HP.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Speed: